The present invention relates in general to measuring precipitation. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems, methods, and computer program products for controlling precipitation collection vessels to accurately and efficiently collect, measure, and aggregate precipitation accumulation data.
Precipitation, such as snow, rain, sleet, hail, etc., is a product of condensation of water vapor in the atmosphere that falls due to gravity. In particular, snow is a form of precipitation that develops in clouds as snow crystals. When snow falls, it accumulates on the ground, on trees, on buildings, on roads, and the like. Accordingly, it is useful to measure snowfall and snow depth. For example, snowfall and snow depth data (referred to herein as “snow accumulation data”) can be used to monitor traffic and road conditions, warn citizens of potentially hazardous conditions, predict future snow accumulation, etc. However, accurately and consistently measuring snowfall and snow depth is challenging.